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arrowHome arrow News arrow Ohio DP history arrow THE APPEALS PROCESS AND CLEMENCY

THE APPEALS PROCESS AND CLEMENCY

Wednesday, 26 July 2006

 

After the arrest of a suspect for a capital crime, defense attorneys are appointed if needed. Following a grand jury indictment, a trial is held. If the defendant is unanimously found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by the jury (or by a panel of three judges if a jury trial is waived), the mitigation and sentencing phase of the trial occurs. If the death sentence is imposed, the offender has the right to an appeals process and to request clemency.


1. Automatic direct appeal: If the death penalty is imposed, the case automatically goes to the Ohio Supreme Court on "direct appeal." This appeal involves the review only of the trial court record-no new evidence-and cannot be waived by the defendant.

2. Post-conviction petition: Inmates' post-conviction actions "appealing their convictions and death sentence under Ohio Revised Code §2953.21…ask the trial court to compare new evidence with the evidence presented at trial [e.g., DNA, evidence withheld by police or prosecutors, and evidence of inadequate representation] to determine if the trial was fair, reliable, and the death sentence was appropriate."

3. Federal Habeas Corpus: The last step in the judicial appeal process involves a federal "habeas corpus" appeal. This is for those convicted of a capital crime but who have not been successful with the direct appeal or post-conviction petition "Habeas Corpus is an appeal to the federal courts for wrongful conviction and unconstitutional imprisonment. There can be no habeas corpus appeal until the direct appeal and the post-conviction petitions are finished in state court. The direct appeal and post-conviction actions are then combined into one federal habeas corpus appeal."

4. Clemency: In addition to the appeals process, the Parole Board can make recommendations to the governor regarding pardons or commutations of sentences. The governor can issue a pardon or commute a sentence on his/her own, but rarely does so without the recommendation of the Parole Board. Clemency may be granted for any reason. The governor can also issue a reprieve, thereby postponing the execution.
1 Information about the appeals process is from "About the Death Penalty Division." Office of the Ohio Public Defender. ; accessed October 27, 2003.

 

Source  http://www.lwvcincinnati.org/publications/DeathPenalty.html

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